Programming Generative AI: A Practical Guide for Developers

Generative artificial intelligence is transforming how we build software, but moving from using chat interfaces to writing code that interacts with these models requires a new set of programming skills. This text-based course guides you through the fundamental concepts of working with large language models programmatically. You will transition from a curious developer to someone who can confidently write code to connect to AI APIs, structure prompts programmatically, and manage model responses. What you'll learn: - Understand the core architecture, key terminology, and foundational concepts of generative AI. - Configure and authenticate API connections to modern generative AI models. - Implement programmatic prompt engineering techniques to guide model outputs dynamically. - Manage and parse structured JSON responses from language models for application integration. - Apply basic Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) patterns to connect models to custom text data. - Handle common API errors, rate limits, and token management in your code. The course begins with foundational concepts and terminology before moving into practical, code-based examples. You will read through clear explanations of API integration, prompt orchestration, and response formatting, practicing with written exercises along the way. This course is designed for beginner developers and programmers who have a basic understanding of coding but are completely new to programming generative AI. No prior AI or machine learning experience is required. Start reading today to build your first AI-powered application.